I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to cleaning devices, and more particularly, to hand-held cleaning devices used to clean male and female electrical terminals.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Hand-held cleaning devices having abrasive bristle ends and integral handle members are known and disclosed in the following U. S. Pat. Nos.
Page, 1,950,862, Mar. 13, 1934 PA1 Boulicault, 2,399,660, May 7, 1946 PA1 Litt, 4,038,715, Aug. 2, 1977
In addition, French Pat. No. 278,888 discloses a hand-held abrasive brush cleaning tool.
Male and female electrical terminals, particularly those exposed to the weather, can become easily coated with dirt or salt and thereby corrode. This can impede the flow of electrical current through the terminals and ultimately lead to electrical failure.
Periodic cleaning of the electrical terminals by an electrical terminal cleaning device is desirable to prevent electrical failure. For this purpose, it is desirable to have an electrical terminal cleaning device which is compact and easily hand-held for transportation and manipulation during use, yet is versatile enough to clean different sizes and types of electrical terminals. None of the above mentioned patents balances the need for compactness with the need for versatility.